Archives for May 2011

Kevin Devine’s recommendation: “There are so many, but this weekend I listened to a lot of Sinead O’Connor (and Nada Surf, but for the sake of this piece, let’s go with Sinead). She’s just so tough, and beautiful, and fearless. Her songs are so strong, and open, and even though there are some production/arrangement choices that I think can skew towards cheesy Enya-isms, she stamps them with enough honesty to make them transcend. She’s punk rock.”

New to Sinéad O’Connor? Kevin recommends you start here: “I’d start with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. That’s the hit, and for good reason – it has my three all-time favorite songs of hers (Black Boys on Mopeds, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and Last Day of Our Acquaintance) AND Nothing Compares 2 U. C’mon. And while some of the sounds haven’t aged well, the songs have. The Gospel Oak EP may be my favorite music she’s made, and Universal Mother is a pretty great record too, but I think this is where you’d point someone looking to get familiar.”

About our guest author, Kevin Devine: You may know Kevin from his days of fronting Miracle of 86 (Mets fans, you get the reference, right?). Since those days, Kevin has toned down his vocals and moved stylistically towards the late, great Elliot Smith, an artist that Kevin says “changed the way I look at writing music.” In fact, Devine snagged Elliot Smith’s producer, Rob Schnapf for his major label debut, Put Your Ghost To Rest. In 2009, Paste Magazine gushed about Devine’s release, Brother’s Blood, saying that Devine’s “…scathing observations and idiosyncratic details leave a disquieting mark.” Devine most recently teamed up with members of Manchester Orchestra to form Bad Books and is set to release his new album, Between The Concrete And Clouds. In the mean time, Kevin continues to play shows and win over new fans.

MP3: She Stayed As Steam by Kevin Devine

About our guest author, Chris Smither: We couldn’t be more honored to have Chris contribute to Rocktorch.com. He has twelve albums under his belt and his music has been covered by the likes of Bonnie Raitt (who affectionately once referred to Smither as “my Eric Clapton”), Emmylou Harris and Diana Krall. Not too shabby, huh? What? We still don’t have your attention? Perhaps the AP describing Smither as “…an American original, a product of the musical melting pot, and one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world” will wake you up. Simply put, your record collection cannot afford to be without a Smither album, so click as we know you want to and pick up his latest, Time Stands Still and then treat yourself to a night out at one of his upcoming live shows.